WMATA announced Wednesday that they'll replace all three escalators at the Bethesda station as part of their six-year Capital Improvement Plan.

"We can't keep doing band-aid repairs and hope they will last - it's time to just replace the entrance escalators at the Bethesda station," Metro GM Richard Sarles told the Greater Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce.

Sarles has asked maintenance staff to examine whether or not the project could be accelerated.

Bethesda Station, which opened in 1984, is used by about 23,000 people per weekday, Metro says. The escalators at the station, which are among the longest in the Western Hemisphere, were modernized in 2002.